Thai teen tipped to make impact
Rising star Wishaya to face Matosevic in first round of Thailand Open
Teenager Wishaya ‘Junior’ Trongcharoenchaikul is so good that organisers of the Thailand Open have given him a wildcard to rub shoulders with some of the world’s top players.
The organisers believe the 18-year-old, who stands 1.93m tall, has a bright future and could lift the popularity of the sport in Thailand.
The Thailand Open, which starts tomorrow at Muang Thong Thani’s Impact Arena, features world No.5 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic and No.9 Richard Gasquet, the defending champion from France.
Yesterday’s draw pitted Wishaya against world No.55 Marinko Matosevic in the first round.
Wishaya is seen as the hottest prospect among the young Thai men’s players and has attracted the attention of tennis insiders worldwide, according to Stewart MacDonald, who has managed the Thailand Open since its inception in 2003.
‘‘I have spoken to a couple of foreign coaches who have either worked with him or seen him, and they have very big wraps for him,’’ MacDonald said.
‘‘Janko Tipsarevic’s agent is working with him, and sees huge potential in him. It is not just within the Thai tennis community, it is with people who are working with the top players across the globe — they see a lot of good things in his game.’’
He added: ‘‘I think the more you get Thai guys coming up, that is going to help [the Thailand Open and Thai tennis].
‘‘Success breeds success. The more Thai guys that are coming through the more interest there is. They will help inspire young kids.
‘‘We want this to be a tournament that we, organisers and Thailand, can be proud of.’’
Tennis became one of the most popular sports here a decade ago but interest in the sport has dropped since the retirement of Paradorn Srichaphan.
Paradorn shot to fame on the international stage when he beat Andre Agassi at Wimbledon in 2002. He became Thailand’s and Asia’s highest-ranked male player when he reached the world’s top 10 the following year. Predictably, with Paradorn’s rise, the popularity of the sport in Thailand rocketed to an all-time high. But since Paradorn’s retirement, no Thai players have been able to capture the attention of local fans in the same way.
Although Danai Udomchoke won the men’s singles title at the 2006 Asian Games, he has failed to make an impact on the tour.
Twins Sonchat and Sanchai Ratiwatana have had little achievement apart from the Thailand Open doubles title in 2007.
Noppawan Lertcheewakarn become the darling of Thai fans when she won the junior title at Wimbledon in 2009 but has since failed to make the grade on the professional circuit.
But MacDonald believes things could change in the near future with the arrival of Wishaya.
Over the past decade, the Thailand Open has grown to become one of the more exciting competitions on the ATP calendar and Stewart hopes that trend continues.
‘‘We obviously want to see the tournament continue growing,’’ said McDonald, who works for BEC Tero.
‘‘What we would love to see is a tennis venue which I think we can do it. My dream would be that in 10 years’ time we have an indoor tennis facility, the kind of facility they have in Melbourne.’’
The way the ATP World Tour is structured makes it extremely difficult to upgrade the Thailand Open, a 250 tournament, to become a World Tour 500 or a Masters 1000 event, he said.